


IF I

by Nameless_WIZARD



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Choose Your Own Ending, Divorce, Heavy Angst, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Slow Burn, Two Endings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:14:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26278489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nameless_WIZARD/pseuds/Nameless_WIZARD
Summary: Mingyu stared down at the waves slamming against the ship, gripping the railing of the deck before closing his eyes and taking in the salt in the air, the smell of a storm brewing, and his old life disappearing.What he had, he packed it all in his suitcase. Which isn’t much, but he had to leave all the things that remind him of Wonwoo. Even if that means eighty percent of his possession. He hadn’t been able to get a shut-eye since he left Seoul, leaving after he signed the divorce paper like his life was depending on it.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Kim Mingyu/Lee Dongmin | Cha Eunwoo
Kudos: 3





	IF I

  
November 19

Maybe it only dawned to Mingyu at this moment because he chose to ignore everything — the blatant truth, the puzzle Wonwoo left then and there, he ignored everything for Wonwoo, and for Wonwoo, Mingyu swore he could fall to pieces. 

The thick fog blurred the horizon to the grey skies, but the captain announced their moorage in ten minutes and the faint flash of the lighthouse permeated through the murkiness of the day. Mingyu stared down at the waves slamming against the ship, gripping the railing of the deck before closing his eyes and taking in the salt in the air, the smell of a storm brewing, and his old life disappearing. What he had, he packed it all in his suitcase. Which isn’t much, but he had to leave all the things that remind him of Wonwoo. Even if that means eighty percent of his possession. He hadn’t been able to get a shut-eye since he left Seoul, leaving after he signed the divorce paper like his life was depending on it. Well, maybe it did. Maybe he hadn’t been self-aware but Mingyu knew bitterness and confusion can make even the most dignified men a monster of their own. Even more so to him — Kim Mingyu, standing six feet tall, what god-given beauty had manifested in his appearance, he lacked in eloquence and elegance. He thought that he already lost everything, he just couldn’t let a sliver of himself wither anymore. 

Once they docked on the port, Mingyu dragged his luggage with him, slinging his worn down backpack over his shoulder. Craning his neck above the crowd, his eyes spotted a familiar figure in black parka, waving on him. Mingyu narrowed his eyes to make out of the boy slithering through the crowd to get to him, and a smile grew on his face. He pulled his suitcase with much vigor than what he had over the past month to meet his childhood friend halfway. “Gyu hyung!” He heard Chan greet him over the hustling of the crowd and the blaring of the ferry’s horn. 

“Chan —” he said, a little breathless as he enveloped his dongsaeng in a tight embrace. He was basking in the warmth, not answering any of Chan’s blabbering —

“Yah, hyung, did you grow taller again?”

“Nana is waiting for you at the house, but can we buy banana milk first?”

“Hyung, is this all your things?”

At that moment, Mingyu just didn’t care. With all month of greeting foreign faces and with people alienating him, this hug was exactly what he needed more than anything. “Yah, Mingyu-ah!” Someone else called and they broke from their shared embrace. Just as Seungkwan approached, his faux annoyance melted into a grin. Under normal circumstances, Kwan would jest at Mingyu and he too, would retort — but they all know Mingyu didn’t just arrive here under normal circumstances, not this time. So with propriety for the gloom brought by the weather and Mingyu, Seungkwan only settled for a playful punch on the latter’s shoulder. No ‘how are you’ or ‘how has it been’...Mingyu couldn’t just answer those without crumbling on his knees, and how grateful he was that Chan and Kwan only talked about surfing and beer pong and Nana’s feast for his arrival. 

“Hansol is there, and Taehyung snuck from work although Nana told him not to — you just can’t stop that hyung.” Seungkwan led them to the parking space where his truck was. “I saw Taehyung hyung snuck a bottle from the cafe’s pantry,” Chan supplemented as he loaded Mingyu’s stuff at the back. They all settled inside, with Seungkwan driving, Chan at the backseat (would often bend forward to change the station on the radio) and Mingyu on the shotgun. “All buckled up!” Seungkwan chirped as he began driving. 

“Also Hansol and Eunwoo hyung told me to pick up Deokyomie from the mart, I hope you don’t mind, hyung, he got the sausages and beer.” Seungkwan glanced at him from the rearview mirror. 

“Eunwoo? Seokminie?” Mingyu tilted his head to the side. 

“Oh you’ll meet them, trust me, Seokmin is a force to be reckoned with — in a good way, and Eunwoo, he’s pretty nice.” Chan said, taking all the space at the back and resting his feet on the window pane. 

“Lee Chan, feet off the window!” Seungkwan said, tearing his eyes from the road for a second to glare at the youngest. “It’s not that heavy!” Chan shouted back. Mingyu chuckled on the exchange between the two. It was like when they were young, their dynamics barely changed just like the island. 

Seungkwan pulled up in front of the grocery store, complaining about the possible storm and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, complaining about Seokmin making them wait for five minutes. WIth the company he now had and the heat from the AC, Mingyu fixed his eyes on the sky. The grey clouds moving fast like sheeps jumping over the fence, lulling him to a nap. 

Seungkwan killed the engine, with it, the serenades from the radio. Chan was about to protest about the sudden silence but the former slid his eyes to Mingyu’s direction. When Chan saw the weariness over his hyung’s once cheerful face, he bit his tongue and leaned back to his seat. His eyebrows once again scrunching as he looked away. Seungkwan checked on Mingyu who seemed to be quite asleep before letting go of a breath he had been holding since he saw his hyung emerge from the ramp of the ferry. It was a golden afternoon when Taehyung broke the news to them. “Mingyu and Wonwoo are getting a divorce.” Of course, Chan and he bombarded Taehyung with questions. What, how, why. All of which Taehyung shook his head from. “They just won’t be getting divorce without any reason!” He told his hyung. But even he was clueless as they are. Even Nana. Minghao even deactivated his Instagram and can’t be contacted by any means. And yet, Mingyu refused to tell anyone anything. 

But one day, Chan eavesdropped over Nana and Taehyung fighting. He immediately told Seungkwan what he knew, and all that they knew was Mingyu throwing his life away because of the divorce and his hyung’s parents in Ansan couldn’t stop him from doing so that Nana wants to travel all the way from Udo to Ansan just to talk some sense, or just perhaps listen, to his grandchild. They didn’t know what transpired between that and last week when Nana excitedly told them Mingyu will be staying there for an indefinite time. So they came across Taehyung in the city the other day, buying new clothes. “For Mingyu,” he said. He also told them he ran out of leave credit, fixing his cousin’s room and tending to Nana, so they had to pick Mingyu from the port. He also made them swear not to speak to anything remotely related to Wonwoo or Seoul. So here they were, even more puzzled than they’re supposed to be. 

The mood only shifted when a guy with slim facial features and contagious big smile ran towards the car. He raised a plastic bag on his left hand and a pack of beer on the other like it were a prized trinket. Chan opened the car door for him and the guy flung everything he carried inside. “You guys won’t believe what just happened —“ the guy started. Chan was a heartbeat too late to shush him down as Mingyu was stirring awake. Blinking rapidly, he gradually took in his surroundings. He sighed in relief when he saw the grey beach outside, he thought he fell asleep in the subway in Seoul again. 

The new guy only stopped talking — and screamed — when he caught a big mess of a man on the shotgun seat. “Hyung, that’s Mingyu.” Chan rolled his eyes. Mingyu craned his neck and glanced on the seat behind him. He smiled at the new guy, the act which put the latter’s defensive stance down. “Oh,” he sighed and chuckled. “Hello, Mingyu-ssi, I’m Seokmin!” The guy cheerily said and extended his arms towards Mingyu who took it gratefully. “Hello, nice meeting you, Seokmin-ssi.”

Seokmin’s eyes turned into crescent. “Ah, Kwannie said we're the same age, so just call me Seokmin.”

Mingyu chuckled. “Then I must insist you also call me Mingyu,” they’re smiles and warm regards easily took off some weight off of everyone’s shoulders. Seungkwan started the engine and once again, began driving. The ride was filled from Seokmin’s stories to Chan and Seungkwan’s endless bicker. Mingyu only settled to listen and answer a few questions as to his preference for barbecue.


End file.
